It is generally recognized that exercise is beneficial for good health and a sense of wellness. Health care personnel consistently recommend regular moderate to rigorous exercise for most individuals regardless of age. Sale of exercise equipment is a large and growing business sector. Health clubs and gymnasiums are common in populated areas. Today, a large segment of the population engages in some form of exercise, and it is the norm to see young and old, male and female, working out regularly in health clubs. At least in some communities, and at certain times of the day, the majority of those exercising in fitness facilities may be elderly persons. Indeed, it is not uncommon to see elderly persons with infirmities, aided by walkers, wheelchairs, and/or oxygen assist equipment, for example, engaging in exercise routines at health clubs.
In order for one to receive the benefits of exercise, it is generally necessary for her or him to continue the exercise session for a period of time. That period of time may vary depending on the general health and age of the exerciser, and may, for example, be anywhere from less than an hour to three hours or more. While exercising for a time period sufficient to gain any benefit from the exercise activity may be easy enough for a young, healthy person, it may be much more difficult for older persons.
Numerous expedients have been proposed to assist persons in maintaining the stamina needed to complete a session of moderate to rigorous exercise. For example, various energy drinks and food supplements have been touted as increasing energy levels and helping to sustain an individual during periods of relatively intense activity. In addition, much has been made of the use of various pharmaceuticals, such as, for example, anabolic steroids, to assist exercise performance. Energy drinks and food supplements, debatably, may be of some limited value in enabling one to maintain a period of rigorous exercise. Pharmaceuticals, on the other hand, implicate major body chemistry and serious side effects which strongly militate against their use.
Situations may occur where a person may have spent a considerable period of time neglecting regular exercise and otherwise failing to maintain good health habits. For example, many older persons have only begun to follow an exercise regimen as they have reached retirement age. Their lack of activity may have resulted in obesity and/or significant muscle atrophy. Often their progress is slow because they simply do not have the stamina to exercise with sufficient intensity and duration. They may become discouraged by their lack of progress and, to their detriment, discontinue a regular exercise program.
Recent evidence, from work done at Stanford University, for example, indicates that stamina and ability to exercise with intensity may be directly related to core body temperature. It appears that ability to exercise with intensity may be limited in duration by an increase in core body temperature that may occur during exercise. If core body temperature can be lowered during an exercise session, then exercise may be continued for a longer period and/or with a maintained level of intensity with all its ensuing benefits. According to the Stanford University study, core body temperature may be lowered by extracting heat via the palm of the hand, for example, by cooling at the palm coupled with a slightly reduced pressure at the palm.
While the target subjects in the Stanford University study appear to be elite athletes, the basic principle of reducing core body temperature to enhance stamina and endurance during exercise remains valid for people in general. It would be desirable, and of great benefit, for an exerciser to have a method that is simple and convenient and that is effective to increase stamina and endurance during an exercise session. This is particularly true for individuals who, because of poor physical condition, lack the stamina to maintain a sufficiently vigorous exercise program.
A device and method for extracting heat from the palm of a hand is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,614,745 issued to Warner et al. (“the '745 patent”). The '745 patent discloses a device in the form of an enclosure that includes a cold maintaining substance. The enclosure is held against the palm of a person's hand by way of a strap, buckle, and hook-and-loop fastener arrangement. According to the '745 patent, the enclosure with the cold maintaining substance is placed in a freezer or refrigerated enclosure prior to use and then placed against the palm and held in place by the fastener arrangement either during or after a period of exertion.
While the device of the '745 patent may have an effect on core body temperature, it may not be convenient enough to be effective, particularly for older persons who may need such an effect the most. For example, it may be difficult for older persons to secure the strap and buckle arrangement in place. In addition, the '745 device does not make provision for enhancing a cooling effect by creating a slightly reduced pressure on the palm.
The presently disclosed core cooling accessory and method include improvements in known accessories and methods of the character described.